James Evans
by Sutoriitoenzeru-Street Angel
Summary: AU At 16 your allowed to leave home legally and so Harry does setting up home and going to work as Diagon Alley as James Evans. In the meantime he'll be sending the wizarding world into panic...Where is Harry Potter?
1. Prologue : A decision

**It's the holidays and in between serious revision and dating I decided to write some decent Harry Potter ff. So here you haven't, one of four ideas I'm posting. Enjoy the prologue ladies and gents.**

It was a hot summer for a child of aeven. That child's name was Harry Potter and he was dressed in what had once been shorts, for a boy about four times Harry's size, and on Harry looked like trousers with the crotch at the knees. Harry had had to tie a double knot in the string around the waistband to hold them up. His shirt hung around his knees and the sleeves finished at his elbows. There wet splotches all over his cloths. Uncle Vernon had ordered him to wash the car and so he was, manning an emerald green hose. He'd borrowed a stepladder from the kitchen in order to reach onto the top of the car. Suds were everywhere as Harry scrubbed and scrubbed.

He was interrupted however when someone said, "Nice job you're doing there lad."

Harry turned, the hose still spewing water onto the roof of the car. It was one of the neighbours; Harry had seen them come over for dinner once. Filthy, common trash, Uncle Vernon had called them afterwards. "Thank-you," Harry said. If there was one thing his Aunt and Uncle didn't like more than anything 'not normal' was a lack of manners. The man smiled at him for a while but Harry couldn't think of much else to say.

"Fancy doing me a favour kid?" the man asked. Harry blinked at him, he knew he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, his Aunt and Uncle didn't like him being seen either. But to say 'no' would be rude, at least, Harry's nine year old, none testosterone fuelled, mind thought so, because testosterone means teenagers and teenagers always say no.

The man carried on, still smiling, "If I give you five quid would you do mine?"

"Your what sir?" Harry asked.

"My car boy, my car," the man laughed.

"But," Harry knew he should protest but what exactly he should say was lost on him.

"Of come on, you've done a bang up job of that one, so lad, will ya do it?"

Harry had never spoken to this man before, Harry didn't think the man had even seen him before as far as he knew and then it clicked. Harry had often answered the door to kids twice his height in loose cloths and carrying buckets. They were offering to clean cars, handing out charity leaflets and other such things. Uncle Vernon had gotten rid of them quickly and then demanded to know what Harry had said to them. Harry didn't understand why but he realised that the man must think him one of those kids.

In an effort to be 'normal' Harry agreed and soon found himself washing the man's car. He was handed a piece of green paper with pictures on it and a number five in the corner. He'd seen similar things handed to Dudley and assumed this must be 'big money'. Harry was used to handling coins when sent to fetch something for Petunia's latest concoction that she said was quality cooking.

When he came back however it turned out that Uncle Vernon had spotted him. Before he knew it his trousers were down and he was clenching his teeth to keep from screaming. Ten slaps, twenty, Harry stopped counting and tried to focused on something but the pain, anything but Dudley's laughing, not looking at Petunia's contorted face, a mixture between a smirk and disgust. Disgust at him, he knew, and not his punishment.

His trousers pulled back up and his feet back on the ground he was dragged by the wrist to his cupboard and thrown in. He cradled his wrist that felt hot as if Dudley had given him another 'Chinese burn'. A nasty trick that involved pulling the skin at the wrist in two different directions till friction caused a layer of skin to break. Harry pulled the screwed up note out of the back pocket of his shorts and held it to the sliver of light coming from the crack beneath his door.

He watched as the spiders came out of their cracks to great him. Crawling over his fingers and ears, whispering things to him. Harry knew that if he kept the note in his cloths Petunia would find it when they went for wash. If he kept it in the cupboard Petunia would find it, or suck it up in the vacuum, when she cleaned his cupboard on a Sunday. If he tried to spend it he'd be caught and it would be spent on Dudley.

"Hide this for me?" Harry asked the spiders. They scurried, Harry laid the note down, strings of webbing bound the note between several spiders and up the wall they scuttled. The note crinkled as it was tugged through a crack in the wall and so the saving began.

Every summer, odd jobs around the drive, mostly when the Dursley's where out. He never spent any of it, even after he discovered Hogwarts; he kept it, hidden and secret. The spiders made sure it was never found.

**Review people, I'll reply to every single one it's possible to reply to.**

**P.S. If you don't review, don't expect to find out what happens to Harry and the spiders.**


	2. Chapter 1 : A saved life

**Well since this one got the most reviews I'm updating it first. I have to say, I had fun writing this chapter, it was all spur of the moment, what ever idea appeared in my head went down on the screen.**

**Oh yeh, just so everyone knows, review replies are sent when I'm about to post the next chapter. For those who don't send signed reviews leave me your e-mail and I'll send you a note manually. :-)**

**Anyway, enjoy the story.**

Once he'd gone to Hogwarts, he felt he would never want to go back to the Dursley's again, that was until the summer of fourth year, the Dursley's had planned a holiday and were there long enough to tell him he was staying with Mrs Fig. Harry didn't complain, even though the woman owned one two many cats and the house smelled of cabbage, for he'd thought of something. Mrs Fig, though not motherly, was less constraining than the Dursley's, maybe he'd be able to get hold of an actual job…paperboy or something.

He was right, he managed to land himself a counter-boy job at the local sports centre. He met many interesting people, or rather, saw them, but hey, he was having fun. He got free food at the end of the day, curly fries, yum. He'd been working there for a week (the Dursley's were on a roundtrip tour of Europe, they'd be gone for a month) when he noticed there was gymnastics' class starting up.

There were girls and boy in tight clothing, stretching, jumping into splits and throwing themselves over in the air. Harry wondered how they could do it seeing as there was a great big window making the gym room seem like one big fishbowl. He watched and watched and it gradually became more and more fascinating for him. So, he joined up, the admission fee was less than his wages at the moment so he was financially safe.

Surrounded by ten year olds the thirteen going on fourteen Harry began to regret his decision, but when he found he had a knack for nearly everything except than which involved being flexible he cheered up. After just three lessons he'd mastered the backhand spring, the round off and the front summersault. Which, for those who don't do gymnastics, is some feat, but boys have a surprising lack of fear when it comes to throwing themselves around.

Just so everyone is clear, backhand spring is where you jump backwards onto your hands and then push up back onto your feat and end up travelling backwards. A round-off is basically a cartwheel but keep your legs together and end up perpendicular to direction you started. And for those who don't know what a cartwheel is go and tape your four limbs to a tire and roll, you'll get the basic idea.

Harry was sorry when he had to leave he did and back to the Dursley's he went, up to his room he went and there, from inside his shoes, his socks, his boxers, and everywhere Vernon hadn't looked for 'stolen items' when he came back from Mrs Fig's, he pulled out his money. And it was quiet the sum to, for a couple of weeks work. Seventy something pounds. He heard the familiar scuttle and smiled, he pulled his bag onto his bed and rummaged around in the bottom. The spiders looked up at him.

"I did a bit of cleaning at Mrs Fig's house," he said, and pulled out a jar of dead insects and no small amount of dust. The spiders were jumping and twittering in delight. Harry opened the jar and hid it under his bed so Vernon wouldn't find it. "Enjoy guys," the spiders crawled around his neck and cheeks. Harry chuckled slightly, it tickled, but he supposed the spiders were thanking him in some way. Petunia's obsessive cleaning, which thankfully did not extend to his room, often got rid of any meals that the spiders were hoping for so this was a welcome treat.

His new acrobatic tricks came in useful when diving out of the way of dragon fire but Harry was even more thankful for them in fifth year.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. Harry saw Sirius was in front of that strange veil, sense the beginnings of a second spell before Sirius did. A front summersault took him down the steps and next to the deus, he ran towards it, the spell was almost at Sirius he wouldn't be able to block in time. Harry grabbed Sirius' ankle and with all his might heaved. Sirius collapsed and the spell shot over his head. Before Bellatrix could react Harry had spun and fired a stunner at her. She hardly blinked but Dumbledore stepped in and she was still and sleeping on the floor in an instant. Harry turned around to look at his slightly startled, but grinning godfather. Sitting in a heap on the edge of the deus.

Sirius opened his arms wide and Harry couldn't resist jumping into them. Sirius was alive, Sirius was alive and well and everything was going to be fine.

"He's here," Harry moved away from Sirius when Dumbledore said these words.

A grin spread across Sirius' face, "Bet he doesn't think you're here Dumbledore, bet he thinks everything went as planned."

Suddenly Harry screamed and doubled over in pain as his forehead split open. It didn't literally but the pain in his scar was intense and burning, "He knows, he's here, closer," where all the words Harry could get out before the screaming started again. Sirius was all over him and Lupin was trying to keep him calm.

"The children," Lupin suddenly yelled, running for the exit, Tonks and Kingsley doubled behind him. They were through the door five minutes before yelling and the sound of spells flying and things exploding reached Harry's ears. It passed the ringing that the pain had started and Harry realised his friends were in danger.

"Harry, you have to stay here," Sirius said.

"No, I brought them here, this is my fault," Harry got up shakily and then, pulling all the strength he had left in him made for the door. Sirius hot on his heels, wand at the ready, at the door Sirius pushed in front of him and Harry eyes widened at the scene. Ron was cradling Hermione, who was either unconscious or dead but judging from the lack of tears on Ron's face he figured unconscious but then Ron was still giggling. Lupin was standing over them, a glimmering, silvery white shield in front of him.

Luna appeared to have come round and was leaning heavily on Ginny, Neville on her other side and Tonks in front of them, a bright pink shield in front of here. Two cracks signalled disapparition and Harry noticed that Dumbledore was no longer around, nor Voldemort.

Harry ran over to Hermione, "Is she okay?" he asked Ron in a hurried voice but Ron only smiled.

Harry could hear banging and the pain in his forehead was making his eyes stream, blood was pouring down his forehead, Voldemort was furious. Suddenly he couldn't see anything at all, the sound of Sirius' voice calling out his name faded with his sight. Harry found himself in an inky blackness and something was crawling round him, a great dirty white snake with gleaming red eyes. He could feel his jaw moving, heard words that weren't his own.

"_If death is nothing Dumbledore then kill the boy_," and it was then that Harry realised that he was trapped at a crossroads, between his conscious and Voldemort. Held back by a mental shield in the form of a snake. Well two could play at that game; he ignored the pain in his head and began concentration hard. Pools of quicksilver, walls of mist, and every trick he could remember about Occlumency. Shrouding his mind, remembering Sirius, he was alive, Hermione and Ron, his best friends, the Weasley's, the closest thing he had to family, remembering it all and pouring and his determination into his shields.

The Snake's grip began to loosen, Harry was taking control, he remembered Gryffindors sword and suddenly it was in his hand and his arm was free, he was cutting at the snake. The mist swirled up around him, green, red and gold dancing in it like a millions stars. Scuttling and rattling noises and the snake was engulfed in black, millions, billions, of tiny spiders were crawling over it, biting it, poisoning it and making I release it's grip on Harry.

Harry heard a howl of pain that he knew wasn't his own, he charged forwards past the snake, the mist pushing him forwards, the sword in his hands and he was there. In a great nest of earthy greens, a filthy place, a snake's lair. He was hacking at it, tunnels collapsed and then he was surrounded by millions of tiny snakes. More defences, their fangs kept closing on the mist. The tails whipped around to try and impression Harry but he was already moving backwards, past the spider constrained form of the snake back into the heart of the mist. Surrounded by images of his friends, his parents, Sirius.

And then the Sirius he was looking at began to gain more colour, the lines of his face became more pronounced and before he knew it he was back in the Department of Mystery's with his friends, Sirius crouching over him and Lupin offering him chocolate.

"Aurors," Tonks said, looking at Sirius, "They coming here Siri and the disapparition wards are back up, quick, change!"

Sirius melted into a large, shaggy black dog. He licked Harry's face and Harry could only smile, reaching up, he took the chocolate from Lupin and wrapped his arms around the dog's neck. The door on the other side of the room opened and in poured the Aurors, Fudge and Dumbledore at the back.

Lupin helped Harry to his feet then went to help Hermione and Ron but Hermione still hadn't woken up. Dumbledore walked over to him, "Take this portkey Harry," he said, "we'll talk about what happened tonight, tomorrow."

After Dumbledore finished speaking there was a familiar jerk behind his navel and he, along with the black dog were flying through space and time. His feet touched solid ground, he was in Dumbledore's office. A couple of pop's later and Lupin carrying Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny with Luna supported between them arrived.

"Hospital wing I think," Lupin suggested, Harry could only nod.

**Sixteen reviews and barely 24 hours between this post and the last...boy I'm good. grin Anyway, I'll update this again once I've updated the other two and then it's once again, the most reviews the first to update. :-) Have fun reviewing people.**


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